Celtics find road Rocky

Fall to Nuggets in rematch of 3OT win

Credit: Associated Press

THREE FOR ONE: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett lose a rebound to the Nuggets’ JaVale McGee during last night’s game in Denver.

Credit: The Associated Press

Celtics forward Brandon Bass works ball inside past Denver Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

Nuggets forwards JaVale McGee, left, and Wilson Chandler get tied up with each other on a rebound, against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

Celtics guard Courtney Lee, right, drives the lane for a basket past Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: Associated Press

Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, left, is fouled while driving to the basket by Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce in the fourth quarter of the Nuggets' 97-90 victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

Celtics coach Doc Rivers reacts to a Celtics turnout in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: The Associated Press

Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari, of Italy, drops the ball in for a basket as Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnet, right, and guard Avery Bradley watch during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

Credit: Associated Press

THREE FOR ONE: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett lose a rebound to the Nuggets’ JaVale McGee during last night’s game in Denver.

Credit: The Associated Press

Celtics forward Paul Pierce takes a seat on the bench during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013.

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DENVER — The Celtics, more than most teams, are accustomed to drawing large rooting sections on the road, but there was still a surprising amount of green in the Pepsi Center last night.

A lot of players are angered by this kind of fickleness. In a place like Denver, the turncoats are most likely local. But not many of those players get the opportunity presented to Danilo Gallinari.

The Nuggets forward, a big part of the reason for last night’s 97-90 Celtics loss, was doing his live on-court interview along with teammate Kenneth Faried when he saw a lot of those green jerseys climbing toward the exits.

“I feel bad for all of the Boston fans,” the pride of Lodi, Italy, said into a microphone. “Now they’ll all have to get out of here.”

Much like the team those people came to cheer. The Celtics came out of the All-Star break a bit uneven, especially once they hit the second half and that Rocky Mountain weariness started to kick in.

Jeff Green, who came off the bench to score 20 points, clearly didn’t like it. The Celtics forward later tweeted, “Damn altitude killed me today. Tough loss, but got another one tomorrow.”

But Green wasn’t the only struggling Celtic. At one point coach Doc Rivers, attempting to pull a gassed Kevin Garnett out of the game, spotted George Karl gesturing for his team to push the ball and keep the pace going.

“George knows what he’s doing,” said the Celtics coach. “He’s been around a long time. There’s a reason he didn’t call a timeout. He could see us and Kevin. George could see it. He looked like (North Carolina coach) Roy Williams, just waving let’s go. He could see us going downhill a little bit. That’s why they play here. George is smart and so was (former Nuggets coach) Doug Moe. They know pace in this place is tough.

“I always thought as a player (altitude weariness) was more the first half, but today it was the second half. It got more to us then. They’re so deep, they keep bringing in guys, and they play at that pace. I thought it got to us tonight.”

Garnett, after a 12-point, nine-rebound, four-assist night, wanted no part of that explanation.

“I’m not going to turn that into an excuse,” he said.

Though the Celtics kept the pace at a decidedly abrupt, uneven cadence thanks to their upgraded brand of defense, they learned why the Nuggets are one of the NBA’s finest at home — now 23-3 here.

But the Celtics, pressured on every second-half shot after a solid first half, also had trouble regaining consistency after the All-Star break.

Paul Pierce, such an important part of the Celtics’ 7-1 run into the break, will have to regain his groove. The captain had trouble finding a good shot in his 10-point, 2-for-14 performance.

“We’ll get it back,” said Pierce. “We understand how we have to play and when, and we’ll find it on this road trip. We get right back at it (tonight against the Lakers).”

Rivers doesn’t sound worried, either, though he detected a problem from earlier in the season last night: that old trust issue. Trouble started when the Celtics, after leading by as many as nine points, gave up a 16-7 run over the last 5:17 of the third quarter.

“I thought we didn’t trust each other tonight offensively,” he said. “That happens. We did a poor job of establishing Kevin, and that was one of our focal points going in.

“We trust each other, we just got away from it. I tried to get us back into it and we never could. I called a couple of timeouts, but each guy wanted to win it instead of trusting the team.”

Trust issues aside, the Celtics still had this one within reach. Faried gave them life with 43 seconds left and Denver holding a 94-90 lead, when he missed two free throws.

But Garnett missed a jump hook, and Ty Lawson hit two from the line for a 96-90 Denver lead.